9th March, 2020
The Oyo State Government is set to review the allocation of land at the Government Reserved Area (GRA) at Akitipiti in Oyo town and Oke Anu in Ogbomoso in fulfilment of its promise to decongest Ibadan, the state capital.
The State Commissioner for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr Abiodun Abdu-Raheem, disclosed this on Monday at the end of duty tour to the affected GRAs in the two towns.
He stated that the lands at Oyo and Ogbomosho GRAs had been allocated for over 10 years without any development carried out on them.
The commissioner lamented that the plots of land, which could serve as sources of revenue for the state government, were being left to waste away.
He called on the landowners to be ready to develop their plots of lands or have them revoked.
“We were at Oyo and Ogbomoso to see the state of things at our GRAs and what I saw was very disheartening. A lot of people are in need of lands and these can even help in boosting the revenue drive of the government.
“Most of the people who acquired the lands did not even bother to develop them. We will go through each of their files and revoke where necessary.
“The Seyi Makinde-led administration wants to decongest Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State, and in order to achieve this, lands in neighbouring towns need to be developed.
“I need to further assure anyone that is interested in acquiring lands at Oyo and Ogbomoso GRAs to visit the ministry for guidelines while only those who mean business will get it,” the commissioner said.